Dave Henderson a day late for Giants' postseason

Published 8:48 pm, Saturday, August 3, 2013

Dave Hendersonwas a postseason legend, especially because of his momentum-shifting home run in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS with Boston. He hit .324 in four World Series, including three with Oakland, and homered twice in Game 3 of the 1989 Series - the return to Candlestick Park following the Loma Prieta earthquake.

He also played for the Giants' 1987 playoff team.

Anyone remember?

Problem is, he wasn't available for the postseason because the trade with the Red Sox wasn't made official until after the Aug. 31 trade deadline, which is different from the July 31 trade deadline because a player who's traded must first clear waivers. Anyone added to a roster in September can't play in the postseason.

So if a team wants to acquire Michael Youngor Jonathan Papelbonfrom the Phillies or Kevin Greggor Nate Schierholtzfrom the Cubs, the players must be claimed off waivers, and the teams with the worst records that put in a claim - first in the league in which the player resides, then the other league - gets first crack at a trade.

The team that owns the player can pull him back, agree to a trade within two days or simply surrender him for no compensation. If a player clears waivers, he can be traded anywhere, as if it's July all over again.

It's how the 2010 Giants landed Cody Ross, the accidental Giant who was claimed only to block the Padres (who had a better record at the time) from claiming him, and it's how the 2012 A's got Stephen Drew. Ross was the NLCS MVP, and Drew solidified the infield on a team that won the AL West.

How would the 1987 Giants have fared in October with Henderson, who hit .234 with Boston that year? Well, without him, they failed to score a run in Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS and lost to the Cardinals.

"I hang out when the clock's ticking out," Henderson once said. "When it's crunch time, I show up."

The Giants worked on acquiring Henderson in late August and agreed to send the Red Sox a player to be named later (turned out to be outfielder Randy Kutcher). There was no urgency to the deal, however, and by the time it officially was completed, it was Sept. 1.

By contrast, the Twins were adamant about acquiring another Boston player before September, making him eligible for the playoffs. The Red Sox were beginning to dismantle the team that reached the '86 World Series and agreed to send Don Baylorto the Twins. Baylor hit .389 in the postseason, and the Twins won the World Series.

To be fair, the Giants were satisfied with their complement of outfielders: Jeffrey Leonard, Chili Davis, Candy Maldonado, Mike Aldreteand Eddie Milner, and it wasn't as if Henderson had a great year. Anyway, a player wasn't eligible for the postseason unless he actually reported to his new team by the end of August, and the Giants were playing in San Francisco in late August, a long haul for Henderson, whose Red Sox were in Minneapolis.

That's right. Baylor already was in town, so reporting to the Twins by the end of August wasn't a problem.

Henderson hit .238 in 15 games for the '87 Giants. After the season, he signed with the A's, earned the starting job in center field and became an instrumental part of a team that won three straight pennants.

Pirates unable to plunder

The Pirates are so inexperienced with this trade-deadline thing.

For much of the past two decades, they had little reason to upgrade at the deadline. Twenty straight losing seasons teaches passiveness and contentment.

This year is different. This is the year they were to bulk up. Get that extra bat. Another arm in the bullpen. Perhaps a starter.

Wednesday's trade deadline came and went, and Pirates general manager Neal Huntington- who was overseeing the team with the majors' best record, thanks in parts to moves he previously made - did nothing.

GMs of contending teams, if they're unable to make a splash with a big move, sometimes will make a minor move if only to signal to the clubhouse that management appreciates the on-field play and is supportive.

Huntington said there wasn't a trade to be made.

So the rotation is without an insurance policy (for Wandy Rodriguez, for starters), the bullpen is without another warm body (All-Star closer Jason Grilliis on the disabled list) and the lineup is without a threat in right field (the right fielders rank last in the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage).

Either of the Chicago right fielders, Alex Rios or Nate Schierholtz, would have been a boost to a team ranking 11th in runs and batting average.

In the Pirates' defense, it was a slow market for bats. That's partly because next winter's crop of free-agent hitters isn't deep, and would-be free agents usually are a hot commodity at the trade deadline.

Still, it would have been nice to make a statement for a team destined to break the streak of losing years and reach the playoffs for the first time since 1992.

The Bull Pen

-- Houston to Baltimore is more than 1,000 miles, but Bud Norrisneeded one minute to find his new home. He simply switched clubhouses when traded from the Astros to Orioles. The next day, he faced his old team and struck out a season-high eight batters in a 6-3 win. In retrospect, he was at a disadvantage all these years because he never got a chance to face the Astros.

-- Something Norris didn't experience with Houston but got after his first game with Baltimore: a shaving-cream pie to the face. "First one of my career," he boasted.

-- Two former Giants infielders who never wanted to make their managing debuts the way they did: Chris Speierin Cincinnati (subbing for Dusty Baker, who had a mini-stroke late last season) and Robby Thompsonin Seattle (subbing for Eric Wedge, who had a mild stroke last week).

-- Thompson admitted he learned a valuable lesson in Managing 101. In the ninth inning Thursday, he signaled to the bullpen, first with his left hand and quickly with his right. He wanted righty Yoervis Medina, but the umps made him bring in lefty Oliver Perez. As it turned out, both relievers got hammered in the inning, and the Mariners turned a 7-2 lead over Boston into an 8-7 loss.

-- Before Wedge's stroke, Baker had told Thompson he'd support him if he had a desire to manage, help put the word out. With the Giants, Baker was Thompson's batting coach and manager and later hired Thompson to his coaching staff.

-- The Royals won nine straight entering the weekend, and Miguel Tejadalikened them to his A's playoff teams of the early 2000s that often picked up the pace in the second half. "I remember when I was with the A's, the first two months, we couldn't get the chemistry together," Tejada said.

-- Good thing for the A's to know: The Rangers have 20 more games against the Astros and Angels, both patsies, and host those teams three times each in the final week.

-- In the week MLB was planning mass suspensions for players linked to the Biogenesis scandal, Jason Giambi - the only member of the BALCO scandal still playing - became the oldest player (42 years, 202 days) to hit a walk-off homer.